Water-current motor.



No. 802,747. PATENTED OCT. 24, 1905. H. H. GRANGER.

WATER CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED IBB.28,1905.

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WITNESS'ES:

PATENTED OUT. 24, 1905.

H. H. GRANGER.

WATER CURRENT MOTOR.

ATTORNEYS 3 $HEETS-SHBET 2.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 28. 1905.

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H. H. GRANGER.

WATER CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.28, 1905.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WATER-CURRENT MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1905.

Application filed February 28, 1905. Serial No. 2 17,6530.

To rtZZ whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, HEMAN H. GRANGER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Davenport, in the county of Lincoln and State of Washington, have invented a new and Improved Water-Current Motor, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to water-current motors; and its object is to provide a motor of this class of simple construction and having improved means for governing the speed or power developed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference inclicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a horizontal section taken through the upper part of my motor. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the motor. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing a governor upon a reduced scale. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, upon an enlarged scale, of the outer portion of one of the wings of the motor. Fig. 4L is an end elevation of the wing shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken through the central shaft of the motor and illustrating a collar which constitutes a stop for the wing. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the shaft and collar shown in Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents an abutment or pier built of masonry. Near the lower portion of this pier a sill 2 projects outwardly, above which there is arranged a horizontal beam 3, which preferably rests upon the upper face of the pier, as shown. The sill and beam may be connected by a suitable stud 4;, operating as a strut, to brace the construction.

At the extremity of the sill 2 1 provide a step-bearing 5, which receives the lower extremity of a central shaft 6, the said shaft being rotatably mounted near its upper extremity in a bearing 7 at the extremity of the beam 3.

Rigidly attached to the shaft 6 at suitable points a pair of blocks 9 are provided, to which blocks arms 10 are rigidly attached. These arms are preferably constructed out of angleirons 11, as indicated, arranged in opposite pairs, as shown, thevertical flanges being attached to the vertical faces of the blocks. The angle-irons 11 are maintained apart by suitable thimbles or distance-pieces 12.

Referring especially to Figs. 2 and 3, at the extremity of the arms 10 substantially rectangular frames 13 are attached. For this purpose the said frames are provided at the outer edges with brackets 14: and 15, formed with pintles 16 and 17, as shown. The pintles 17 are rotatably mounted on the lower arms and the pintles 16 are rotatably mounted on the upper arms in suitable bearings or blocks 16 and 17, which are attached between the angle-irons 11. The brackets 14 are hollow, as indicated, so as to permit each of them to surround a link 18. The purpose of this link will appear more fully hereinafter. In the rectangular frame aforesaid a plurality of blades or vanes 19 are attached, the same being separately mounted to rotate upon substantially horizontal axes, as illustrated most clearly in Fig. 4. At the outer extremities theses vanes are provided with trunnions 20, which extend through the verticals of the frames and carry rigidly cranks 21. These cranks are all connected at the outer extremity of each wing by means of connecting-rods 22, and each of the connecting-rods 22 is controlled by means of a link 23, the upper extremity of which attaches to the corresponding link 18. It should be understood that the blades or vanes 19 rotate freely upon their axes, and hence the links 23 may operate to control the positions of all the vanes of one frame at once. The parts. are connected in such a manner that the vanes 19 will always dispose themselves in a substantially parallel relation. They may be drawn into an open or inclined position, as shown in Fig. 4; but, on the other hand, they may be drawn into a substantially vertical position, as in Fig. 3, so as to close the spaces lying between them. The mechanism for controlling all of the vanes at once will'be described more fully hereinafter.

The shaft 6 aforesaid, which it should be understood is rotated continuously by the revolution of the motor, transmits its rotation by bevel-gears 24: to a substantially horizontal shaft 25, which may run above the beam 3 to a point where the power is to be used. The power may of course be used for any purpose desired, such as pumping, &c. At a suitable point on the shaft 25 bevelgears 26 transmit movement to a governor 27. Said governor may be of any suitable construction, such as that shown. It may comprise a pair of oppositely-disposed balls 28, which move out and in in proportion with the centrifugal force due to their rotative speed, controlling the position of a lever 29, which in turn controls a bell- IIO crank lever 30. To the bell-crank lever 30 a governor-rod 31 is attached, and this runs hori- Zontally substantially parallel with the aforesaid shaft 25 and is attached at its outer extremity to a bell-crank lever 32.

The position of all of the vanes of the motor is controlled through the bell-crank lever 32, and for this purpose a collar 33 is provided. This collar is adapted to slide longitudinally of the shaft 6. Its inner face is formed with a circumferential groove. A plurality of links at are provided having hooks at their extremities which project into the said groove, so as to support the links as though on a pivot, at the same time enabling them to rotate with the arms 10. At their lower extremities these links attach to levers 35, which levers have their fulcrums at the aforesaid thimbles 12, as will be readily understood. The outer extremities of the levers attach, by means of universal connections 36, with the aforesaid links 18, respectively. The collar 33 is connected, by means of a main link 37, with the horizontal arm of the bell-crank lever 32. From this arrangement it should now readily appear that if the collar 33 is moved up or down by the link 37 it will operate to raise or lower the links 18, affecting the positions of the blades 19, as described above.

At suitable points upon the shaft 6 I provide collars 38, one of which is shown very clearly in Figs. 5 and 6. These collars are provided with outwardly-projecting teeth 39, arranged substantially radially and coinciding substantially with thedirection in which the arms extend. These teeth 39 present substantially radial faces 1O, which are adapted to be abutted by the inner extremities of the frames 13, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig.5. These collars do not attach rigidly to the shaft, but are connected to the same, respectively, by helical springs 11.

The mode of operation of the motor will be best understood by inspection of Figs. 1 and 5. The current would iiow substantially in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, the direction of rotation of the motor being from right to left, as shown by the curved arrow adjacent to the arm 10 of the motor. Referring to Fig. 5, it will appear that the wing of this arm is held in position at its inner extremity by the collars 38, so that the rearward movement of the corresponding frame 13 will assist in imparting a rotary movement to the shaft 6. In this way the wing will present an efiective resistance to the current until it arrives at substantially the position 10 at which time the frame will swing outwardly as the arm advances against the current. In other words, the wings as they move forwardly will dispose themselves parallel with the current, as indicated by the wing 13 in Fig. 1. As the arms arriveat their most forward position and start toward the rear the frame 13 will swing rearwardly and The governor 27 will In practice the motor will be submerged well below the surface of the stream, so that it will not be in the path of driftwood or rubbish coming down with the current.

The motor described is of very simple construction and will evidently operate automatically, so as to develop a substantially constant speed or power.

Evidently the direction of rotation should depend upon whether the motor is used on the right or on the left bank of a stream. A motor such as that described could evidently be adapted to rotate in the opposite direction by putting on the collars 38 in a reversed position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In awater-current motor,in combination, a plurality of arms, a plurality of frames rotatably supported thereupon, a plurality of vanes carried in said frames, and automatic means for controlling the relation of said vanes.

2. In a water-current motor,in combination, a plurality of arms, a plurality of frames rotatabl y carried respectively thereby, a plurality of vanes carried by said frames, mechanisms connecting the vanes of each frame whereby they may move in unison, anda governor connecting with said mechanism.

3. In a water-current motor,in combination, a central shaft, a plurality of arms projecting therefrom, a plurality of frames attached near the outer extremities of said arms and adapted to swing, a plurality of vanes rotatably mounted in said frames, means for connecting the vanes carried by each frame, links connecting with said last means, a collar slidably mounted upon said shaft, mechanism connecting said last links with said collar, and a governor controlling said collar.

A. In a water-currentmotor,in combination, an arm, a frame having an axis of rotation on said arm and an opening at said axis of rotation, a plurality of vanes carried by said frame, a link passing through said opening and adapted to control said vanes, and means for controlling said link,

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HEMAN H. GRANGER.

Witnesses:

TOWNER S. JAYNE, D. F. IVRIGHT. 

